July 13, 2006
Michael Mewhinney
NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, Calif.
Phone: (650) 604-3937/9000
RELEASE: 06_49AR
NEW INTERACTIVE SPACE EXPLORATION EXHIBIT TO VISIT NASA AMES
Want to take a virtual reality field trip to the moon, Mars and
beyond?
If so, there's an exciting, new traveling exhibit coming this month to
NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, Calif., that promises to be
the 'hot ticket' for space explorers of all ages.
NASA's "Vision for Space Exploration Experience" will visit Ames July
27-30, 2006. The free exhibit will be open to the public from 10 a.m.
to 4 p.m. PDT daily, outside the Ames Exploration Center, the large
white tent located adjacent to the main gate to Moffett Field.
Housed in a 53-foot-long trailer, the new exhibit features interactive
holographic control panels, colorful 3-D imagery and even a 'cosmic
waiting area' where visitors will learn what they will need to travel
to the moon and Mars. After the 'training session,' video screens
display virtual models of the moon and Mars, allowing visitors to
learn about their surfaces, the history of NASA's research on each of
them and future plans for exploration.
The second section of the trailer features a hexagonal theater that
introduces visitors to NASA's plan to return to the moon to create a
working environment that will help ensure safer, more effective
future exploration further into the solar system. Visitors will
discover what it might be like to live and work on the moon and Mars.
Exhibit visitors also will learn how tomorrow's lifestyles will change
as NASA develops advancements in power, computer technologies,
communications, networking and robotics. Visitors will see how other
advanced technologies will increase the safety and reliability of
future space transportation systems, while also reducing costs.
Touring the exhibit, which is wheelchair accessible, takes
approximately 15 minutes. The touring exhibit, which can accommodate
up to 128 visitors each hour, is currently on a national tour, with
stops planned in southern California following its visit to NASA
Ames.
For more information and photos of the new traveling exhibit, please
visit:
http://www.nasa.gov/centers/ames/events/2006/travelingexhibit.html
For information about NASA's Vision for Space Exploration, please
visit:
http://www.nasa.gov/home
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